


(you saved me)

by cian1675



Series: (re - published) [2]
Category: Infinite (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, Angst before fluff, Fluff and Angst, Forgiving, Gen, M/M, Mentions of Suicide, Moving On, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Secrets, Slice of Life ish, Somewhat domestic, getting over the past, illicit affairs, more disclaimers inside, myungsoo-centric - Freeform, no actual death happens, past scandal, things get better eventually
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-06
Updated: 2017-03-18
Packaged: 2018-09-22 11:45:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 14,507
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9606275
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cian1675/pseuds/cian1675
Summary: When Myungsoo avoided a squirrel on the road, he hadn’t expected anything, let alone that the squirrel will return as a man, to save him.(Or the AU where Myungsoo is in his metaphorical darkest hour and Sungyeol comes into his life.)





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> This was originally written as a Block B fic under the same title ([You saved me](http://archiveofourown.org/works/7235944/chapters/16427074)), with name changes and some minor edits for characterization to fit Infinite members. It is very similar to the original, so if you've read that before, I apologize. It's just that as an author, I have a few works I really like, and some of them are in Block B which honestly doesn't have a big fic fandom compared to Infinite, so I decided to (essentially) republish this here. I made this bunch of republished fics into a series, as you can probably see, though their stories are not related, haha.
> 
> Anyway, the good news is, everything's already written, so I'll be able to update this regularly. ^^ I'll love to know what you think about the fic, and if you've not read this before, I'll advise you not to read the original lol.
> 
>  
> 
>  **Disclaimer!**  
>  The story mentions suicide, specifically one character saving another from jumping off the ledge. The one jumping does not really have suicidal tendencies, but he does feel numb during the period, which is described in writing. Please be aware, and do not read this if it might trigger you.
> 
> Other than that, happy reading~

_Prologue._

 

There are two bright spots of light heading towards him. He’s frozen. Oh god.

He squeezes his eyes closed. The next thing he remembers is a loud screech of rubber against tar as the car swerves, narrowing avoiding him.

He’s still alive.


	2. One

_I._

He’s once heard that people are scared of heights not because they are scared of falling, but because they are afraid that they would give in to the urge to fall. Standing at the ledge of the roof, Myungsoo wonders which is the reason for the slight trembling of his legs.

 _Maybe it’s both_ , he thinks.

He doesn’t really want to die, but he isn’t thinking of getting to a safer position either. Myungsoo probably stands there, in the cool dark night overlooking the 2 storey houses around him for a long time. For how long, he doesn’t keep track.

This place, this rooftop of a 3 storey apartment, with a shabby room for a house that he’s lived in for the past few years is the only place he can even return to now. Going back home to Yongin to his parents isn’t an option, not unless he explains  _the whole thing_  to them, and he’s not sure if he wants to do that. Logically, he knows that there are probably other solutions, but his mind is in a haze, floating.

It is in this strange mood that Myungsoo suddenly feels a hand wrap around his wrist.

 

 

When Myungsoo turns around, he sees a tall man standing in his roof garden, or what passes off for a garden in this barren concrete tiled roof area outside his shed of a house. There’s a slight tug at this wrist, and Myungsoo finds his feet moving, crossing over the short railings on the ledge to step down onto the floor beside the stranger.

Myungsoo’s not too sure what has just happened, but as he looks over to the ledge that he had just been standing on, he wonders if the man had just saved him. He hadn’t intended to jump, but the indifference growing in his chest had numbed his mind to the point where Myungsoo thinks there is a high possibility that he might have been a splat on the pavement below if the man hadn’t appeared.

The thought sickens him, and Myungsoo removes the man’s grip on his arm to sit down on the wooden bench. The man makes no move to sit, standing in the same spot he had been when Myungsoo had first turned to see him. Under the dim street lights, Myungsoo makes out that the stranger is a man (boy?) in his early twenties, with dark hair and dressed simply in a long sleeved shirt and jeans. He doesn’t look familiar, and Myungsoo wonders if he lives nearby.

The silence grows, and much as Myungsoo wishes for one of them to say  _something_ , he isn’t sure what he could say to this guy. Eventually, the guy says, “I’m Lee Sungyeol. The landlady says I could move in here tonight, but I wasn’t expecting someone to still be here.”

Myungsoo blinks, stalling for time to think of what to say. He had been falling behind on rent, but he had managed to scrap together enough money from working at the convenience store to pay off last month’s rent, so he’s surprised to hear that the landlady has already leased this place to someone else.  _I wasn’t informed of this_ , he thinks.

He must have said that last line out loud, because the man, Sungyeol-ssi, says, “It’s okay, I know it’s a short notice so we can share the space for a while, if you want.”

Myungsoo doesn’t know what to say to that, somewhat relieved that at least he won’t have to move out right away, so he nods and follows Sungyeol-ssi into the house.

Inside the house, Sungyeol-ssi takes a seat on the couch, finding cushions to set against the arm rest, and Myungsoo stands at the coffee table, unsure.

“You can sleep on the bed, and I’ll take the couch for the night,” Sungyeol-ssi says, lying down already.

“Okay.”

 

 

When Myungsoo wakes up in the morning, it seems like every other morning, that is, every other morning since he got fired. The sun is already high in the sky, the room bright because he forgot to close the curtains last night. It’s only when he sees the pile of cushions on the couch that he remembers what happened last night.

The house isn’t big, only a living room, bathroom and single bedroom, although there is a small kitchen of sorts near the door in the living room space. Since the bathroom door is ajar, and Myungsoo hasn’t seen Sungyeol-ssi in both the bedroom and living room, it’s safe to assume the other is probably out.

 _Maybe he’s at his job or something_ , Myungsoo thinks. Myungsoo has a job at the convenience store, but only for late night shifts when few people come in, so there are less chances of anyone recognizing his face. He drinks some water, and puts on a snapback to hide his dirty hair and also his face, before heading downstairs to find the landlady.

 

 

“Oh yeah, the Lee-kid told me that he’s your friend, and you won’t mind sharing the place with him. He paid your overdue rent, and also rent for the next 2 months in advance. Didn’t he tell you?”

Myungsoo tries not to show the surprise he’s feeling to the landlady, a homely middle-aged  _ahjumeoni_  who is nice, but sometimes nosey. He doesn’t want to have to explain that he doesn’t know Sungyeol-ssi; that he had only come down to ask her about the mysterious man. He thanks the landlady, bowing politely, before excusing himself, with even more questions than before.

 

 

In the evening, when Sungyeol-ssi returns, he has a small luggage that he pulls behind him. Myungsoo goes through the list of questions he’s thought of earlier, and asks, “Who are you, and why did you tell the landlady we’re friends?”

If Sungyeol-ssi is affected by the questions, he does a good job of not showing it. Sungyeol-ssi merely sets his luggage down, calming closing the door while he answers, “I’m someone you once saved.”

Myungsoo feels his legs weaken, and he sits down on the couch, afraid he’ll fall.

Sungyeol-ssi continues, “I said we are friends, because I’m hoping we will become friends, I guess.”

Sungyeol-ssi isn’t smiling or anything, face neutral, serious even, and Myungsoo isn’t sure what to make of it. He doesn’t know Sungyeol-ssi well at all, so he can’t tell if the other is lying. “What do you mean I saved you?”

He watches as Sungyeol-ssi takes off his outer jacket to hang on the chair, and sits down beside him. Myungsoo turns his body to face the other, waiting for Sungyeol-ssi to say something. After a heartbeat, Sungyeol-ssi says simply, “You were driving, and your car could have crashed into me, but you swerved instead, so I lived.”

Myungsoo does not remember ever almost running into a person, and his disbelief has him narrowing his eyes at Sungyeol-ssi. “I don’t think I have ever done that. I’m pretty sure I would remember if I had almost killed a person.”

“You ended up in hospital for a week because of the swerve,” Sungyeol-ssi adds, staring straight at Myungsoo as if that will jot his memory.

“I don’t remember being in hospital – Oh,” Myungsoo suddenly remembers  _something_ , but it only makes him more suspicious, “I did end up in a hospital before, but I was avoiding a squirrel…”

“Yes.”

_Yes? YES!?_

“What do you mean ‘yes’?” Myungsoo’s not sure what’s going on anymore. Is he losing his mind?

“I agreed with you. You are right.”

Myungsoo looks at Sungyeol-ssi, really  _looks_  at him. The guy in front of him looks pretty normal, and he has a bit of a clean-cut college student look. He has short hair, recently trimmed, a clean face that’s well shaven with clear skin, and neat nails. He looks like a person, not a squirrel. He also does not look like a lunatic, but then again, what do lunatics look like?

“I’m not crazy, and neither are you,” Sungyeol-ssi says, a hint of a smile in his eyes, almost as if he could read Myungsoo’s mind.

 _This is crazy. Did I actually die last night and is this what hell looks like?_  Myungsoo thinks, hugging his arms to his chest, and pinching his wrist.  _Ouch_ ,  _it hurts_. He looks at Sungyeol-ssi again, and is met by calm eyes still looking straight at him.  _This is so crazy, but what the heck._

“If you are a squirrel, why do you look like a person?”

A hint of a smile tugs Sungyeol-ssi’s lips upwards, “I’m not just  _a_  squirrel, Soo-ah. I’m the squirrel you saved. And this is not what I actually look like, but I can’t communicate with you as a squirrel.”

“Why do you even need to communicate with me?” Myungsoo is surprised at the nickname, but that’s the least of his concerns right now.

“You don’t have to believe me, but I’m here to help you.”

“Help me? Why do you want to help me?” This is getting stranger by the second, and Myungsoo’s out of his depth.

“You,” Sungyeol-ssi takes a deep breath, “You almost killed yourself last night, didn’t you?”

A sharp intake of breath. _Breathe, Myungsoo, breathe_.

“So, you mean to say, you appeared to  _save_  me?” Myungsoo laughs, incredulous now. The situation is beyond him, and he thinks his mind is falling to madness, judging by how he’s responding.

“I want to  _help_  you,” Sungyeol-ssi repeats, “And you looked like you needed help.”

“I’m not some damsel in distress,” Myungsoo hears himself say.

“I never said you are.” Sungyeol-ssi runs a head through his hair, the first crack at his composure. “Just, just let me help you. For a while. It’s the least I can do, to repay you for saving me. I’ve paid your rent so you can stay here for another 2 months, at least.”

“Yeah, I know. I talked to the landlady this morning.”

“Oh,” Sungyeol-ssi says, as if he hadn’t expected Myungsoo to do that.

“Yes, ‘oh’. So, Sungyeol-ssi, if that is your name, if you are a squirrel who is here to help me, what exactly are you going to do?”

“Expose the  _truth_.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Btw I know Myungsoo’s hometown is Seoul but yeah, let's ignore that little inaccuracy.
> 
> The original story started because of a prompt I saw on [tumblr](http://writing-prompt-s.tumblr.com/post/145866781955/you-swerve-to-avoid-a-squirrel-unknown-to-you):  
>  _You swerve to avoid a squirrel. Unknown to you, the squirrel pledges a life debt to you. In your darkest hour, the squirrel arrives._
> 
> This is Myungsoo's darkest hour (metaphorical hour), and Sungyeol's here to help expose the truth. The truth isn't nice, but other than that, things should start looking up afterwards. Also, I realise I still have very little clue how to tag this fic, but I honestly still love this whole story a lot, so I hope you bear with the vagueness of the summary and tags~ The tags will be updated as the story is updated, so they won't give spoilers :)
> 
> Let me know what you think of it so far! ^_^


	3. Two

_II._

Myungsoo’s glad he’s already seated, because the implications of “the truth” shocks him. He’s not even sure if Sungyeol-the-squirrel-ssi knows about  _it_ , but if he does, then he probably thinks the same of him as all the other strangers who avoid him on the streets when they catch a glimpse of his face.

When Myungsoo peeks at Sungyeol-ssi from behind his hands where they’ve reached to cover his surprise earlier, he doesn’t sense any judgement from Sungyeol-ssi. There’s no accusation, no snide or rude comments, no pity.

Sungyeol-ssi waits for Myungsoo to pull himself together, fingers tapping idly on the couch, rhythm oddly soothing. Myungsoo isn’t prepared to talk more about  _the thing_ , so he decides to turn the questions back to other matters, “You haven’t answered why you look like a person when you are a squirrel, you know.”

Sungyeol-ssi raises an eyebrow, like he wasn’t expecting Myungsoo to change topics, but he quickly settles back into a neutral expression, saying, “Well, even as a squirrel, I was sentient. I just took the form of a person because it’s easier to move around without raising suspicion.”

“You...  _took_  the form of a person?” Myungsoo’s eyes rounded, eye whites obvious, “What does that mean? Did you possess someone or what?”

The eye roll Sungyeol-ssi gives would make Myungsoo laugh, if he isn’t feeling a bit creeped out right now. “No, I can… what do you call it,  _shape-shift_. Well, no, that isn’t really the best term, but just know that I am still a squirrel, as self-aware as I was in my original form, but I now  _appear_  like a human.”

 _Right. Like that makes things better_ , Myungsoo thinks. He feels tension starting in the front of his head, and he scrunches his brows, fingers massaging his temples. When he felt warm fingers on his scalp, Myungsoo freezes, turning to see Sungyeol-ssi hovering over him. After a beat when no one moves, Sungyeol-ssi starts massaging his scalp, slowly kneading the tension away, and Myungsoo doesn’t make a move for him to stop.

 

 

That night, stocking snacks in the convenience store, his cap pulled low to hide his eyes, Myungsoo thinks about the strange conversation. He’s not sure if he fully believes Sungyeol-ssi, but seeing how he was the only one on the road that day he avoided the squirrel, it’s not like anyone else would know about the incident.

Myungsoo had told the ambulance that came to the scene that he accidentally lost control of his steering wheel for a while because he it was a long journey, never mentioning the squirrel, which had been gone when Myungsoo got out of the car to inspect. He hadn’t been fully sure if there was really a squirrel anyway, because he might have imagined it due to the tiring trip, so he left it out of his statement. When he had realized that his forehead was slightly bloody, and his ankle felt funny, Myungsoo had called for an ambulance himself, because the road was deserted at the time of the night. Given the circumstances, it seems plausible that only Myungsoo and the squirrel would know what had happened.

Plausible  _if_  the squirrel can indeed turn into a human, that is.

Finished with arranging the snacks, Myungsoo gets up to sort the drinks, and he hears the bell chime, indicating that he has a customer. He slouches a bit, hiding his full height, pulling the cap down and concentrates on the drinks in front of him. Hopefully no one will recognize him. He’s been lucky, really lucky so far that hardly anyone comes in after midnight, which is when his shift starts, so there haven’t been many who would recognize him.

He shuffles back to the cashier, in case the customer buys something, because he’s the only worker in the convenience store at this time, so there’s no one to man the cashier when he’s restocking items. With his cap pulled so low, Myungsoo isn’t able to see the customer’s face fully, but that’s a small inconvenience.

Because he couldn’t see the customer’s face, Myungsoo’s taken aback when the person across the counter says, “Myung…soo?”

Although Myungsoo’s flustered, he takes the carton of milk in front of him, and forces himself to scan the barcode like normal, hoping that ignoring them would work. He doesn’t dare to speak, in case his voice gives his identity fully away, so he just points to the screen, indicating 900 won, and places both his hands out politely for the customer to hand him the money.

A 1000 won bill is placed on his outstretched palms, and Myungsoo shifts to place the bill in and get the change.

“I’m sorry for the mistake, but I thought you were… someone I knew,” the customer says when Myungsoo hands over the change and pushes the milk carton towards him.

The voice sounds familiar, but Myungsoo doesn’t look up to see who it is. He no longer has friends. Everyone whom he thought he was close to has been so quick to join the strangers in judging him once the rumors have been out. Given his word against the words of someone richer and with more power, most people, including those he thought were friends, had chosen to believe the other person’s lies over his. The betrayal stings still.

He hears the bell chime again, the sound of the customer walking out. Myungsoo doesn’t look to see who it is, because even if it’s someone who used to know him, that person has long lost his trust when they didn’t believe him, like the rest of the nation, once the rumors grew into headline news.

 

 

When Myungsoo gets home at 7 in the morning, the first thing he sees is Sungyeol-ssi on the couch, stuffing fries into his mouth. He’s not sure how Sungyeol-ssi had gotten fries at such an early hour, but the scene vaguely amuses him, and he lets out a low chuckle.

The sound makes Sungyeol-ssi sit taller, his face scrunching up in Myungsoo’s direction. “Why are you laughing at me?”

“I’m not laughing at you,” Myungsoo smiles, one of the first genuine ones in a long while (the kind that makes his dimples show), and continues, “I’m just laughing because seeing you eat fries reminds me of this squirrel that used to hang around the fast food place near my school. It has a really messed up tail that looks like an over-used pipe cleaner missing most of its bristles, which we always guessed was because of all the fries it’s eaten over the years.”

Myungsoo doesn’t expect the explanation to make Sungyeol-ssi stand up, putting the box of fries down to say with a tight voice, “Well,  _I_  have a nice and bushy tail, alright. Even if I eat fries.”

He knows it’s not supposed to be funny, but Myungsoo bursts out in laughter. The indignant face Sungyeol-ssi makes is kind of adorable, and Myungsoo reaches out to lightly ruffle the other’s hair. Sungyeol-ssi puffs his cheeks up, pouting.

It’s then that Myungsoo suddenly realizes that what he’s doing might be somewhat inappropriate, what’s with them knowing each other for only a day or so. He quickly steps back, heading into the kitchen under the guise of finding a glass of water. Sungyeol-ssi doesn’t say anything about it, merely settling back on the couch, picking up another fry which he dips generously into ketchup.

Myungsoo still has questions, but right now, after his shift, he really just wants to lie down in bed and sleep. He decides to save the questions he wants to ask Sungyeol-ssi for after he wakes up. Sungyeol-ssi hums, telling him that he’ll be back around evening, so they can talk then.

Myungsoo doesn’t ask what Sungyeol-ssi has to do from now till dinner time, because even if (and that’s a big if, but one that Myungsoo is starting to accept as plausible) Sungyeol-ssi is a squirrel, he has his own things to do, and Myungsoo isn’t his parent or guardian. That is Myungsoo’s last thought as he falls asleep on his bed.

 

 

The smell of eggs greets Myungsoo as he wakes up. Twisting around to check his bedside clock, Myungsoo rubs his eyes to clear his sleep-blurry vision. It’s around dinner time, and Sungyeol-ssi has probably been back for a while. Myungsoo stumbles past the kitchen, his hair a mess, to get to the bathroom. As he closes the door for a shower, he hears Sungyeol-ssi call out, “Dinner’s going to be ready soon. Don’t take too long.”

When he’s done showering and seated at the couch, a plate of scrambled eggs, with kimchi and stir-fried vegetables as side dishes on the table, Myungsoo gets a weird feeling in his stomach. It’s only a simple meal, but he can’t help but think about how long it has been since he’s eaten anything but microwaveable food. He thanks Sungyeol-ssi for the meal, digging in ravenously. Sungyeol-ssi just smiles at him, seeming pleased by how well Myungsoo is eating.

After the plates are cleared and washed, Myungsoo gets two glasses of water for the conversation he intends to have with Sungyeol-ssi.

 

 

“So,” Myungsoo starts, “When you said ‘expose the truth’ yesterday, what did you mean by ‘the truth’?”

Sungyeol-ssi nods like he had expected the question. “I meant… the scandal that you were involved in.”

“What do you know about it?” Myungsoo notices how his nails have turned white from gripping the glass too tightly, so he consciously relaxes his fingers.

“I’ve read all the news and articles that were released,” Sungyeol-ssi pauses, “But I know they don’t tell the whole story.”

Myungsoo considers what Sungyeol-ssi has just said. He’s not sure what Sungyeol-ssi knows, or even why he didn’t immediately believed everything the reporters wrote, like so many others had. “Why do you think that’s not the whole story?” Myungsoo finally asks.

The look on Sungyeol-ssi’s face can only be described as sheepish, or maybe a bit guilty? Myungsoo’s not sure why he would make such expressions until he hears him say, “I… I’ve seen what you did in the office with him.”

_Wait, what?_

“What do you mean? What did you see?” Myungsoo takes a sip of water just for something to do.

“Uh,” a flush is working its way up Sungyeol-ssi’s neck, “I… I saw how the other guy initiated most of the…” the flush reaches the tips of his ears, “… sexual… stuff.”

Myungsoo’s probably gaping like a fish right now, eyes wide. He’s not sure if it’s because Sungyeol-ssi had seen, or because someone besides Myungsoo knows that what was written in the news were lies and half-truths. He’s kind of glad someone’s on his side, he supposes, but Myungsoo could have done without the knowledge of being spied on –

“Wait, how did you even see us? We were quite sure there weren’t cameras or anything around and all…”

Sungyeol-ssi is fully flushed right now, face red, fingers fidgeting. “Uh, the windows face a forest. You guys don’t really close the blinds, you know.”

Myungsoo still doesn’t really comprehend how Sungyeol-ssi saw anything from the window facing a fully grown forest with lots of tall trees hiding said window from the view of any normal person, until he remembers that Sungyeol-ssi isn’t a  _person_.

“Were you spying on us as a  _squirrel_? In the trees?”

“Uh, yea, I guess, I can see why you might call it that.”

Myungsoo takes a shaky breath, unsure of what he’s supposed to do. “So, I guess,” Myungsoo starts after a while, “You know that what they wrote about me seducing him wasn’t true.”

Sungyeol-ssi nods.

Myungsoo swallows a lump forming in his throat before continuing, “We were having a relationship in secret, but we loved each other – or so I had thought – until the rumors of us leaked, and he… he dropped me like a hot potato to protect his reputation.”

“Yeah, I figured as much,” Sungyeol-ssi offers, without any pity in his eyes.

“It wouldn’t have been so bad, I thought… I thought we could get through it, but then he just suddenly released a press conference saying that I had… seduced him, using him for sexual favours to climb the corporate ladder, and then I was fired. Just like that.”

This isn’t the first time Myungsoo has repeated the story of what happened, but it’s the first time someone is actually listening without jumping in to judge him. He hurriedly wipes the tears seeping out from the corners of his eyes, adding, “And that’s not even the worse part. Once that got out and made headline news, people shunned me, because they thought I was the evil third party coming between a successful business man and his wonderful and rich wife. And to top it all off, I was a guy, not a girl, and the repercussions were even greater.”

Somewhere along his recount, Myungsoo has started choking up, soft sobs hitching his breath, and Sungyeol-ssi presses tissues into his hand, a hand slowly stroking his back. Myungsoo doesn’t mean to, but when Sungyeol-ssi leans further in to put an arm around his shoulder, Myungsoo holds the tissues tightly to his eyes, crying his heart out the first time in months since the scandal happened.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A very summarized version of the truth is out, guys! There's more to it than what Myungsoo told Sungyeol, but you'll find out more in the later chapters~ Also, the identity of the business man hasn't been revealed, but who do you think that might be? And who do you think recognised Myungsoo in the convenience store?
> 
> Let me know your guesses, and I'll love to know what you think about this story so far as well :)


	4. Three

_III._

Sungyeol-ssi’s by his side, just gently holding Myungsoo until he stops sniffing, eyes swollen and red, but feeling somewhat lighter. They sit like this for what seems like a long time, until Sungyeol-ssi reminds him that he has work in an hour. Myungsoo clears his throat, thanking Sungyeol-ssi for listening, but in his mind, he’s already grateful for all the other things Sungyeol-ssi has done for him in the short time he was here.  _Like getting my life back to a sense of normalcy_ , Myungsoo thinks, not using the word “normal” ironically for once, and coming to terms with the fact that this life, this job at the convenience store is now his normal routine.

 

 

When Myungsoo gets back home in the early morning after his shift, Sungyeol-ssi is already at the door, wearing his shoes, ready to head out. Myungsoo takes in the outfit Sungyeol-ssi has on, different from the sweaters and casual button-ups he usually wears. The white shirt has been ironed, a well-fitted navy blazer on top, and smart, neatly pressed slacks paired with an elegant belt. The dress shoes Sungyeol-ssi is lacing up are dark brown oxfords, polished to shine. There’s a brown leather messenger bag sitting by the umbrella stand, probably also Sungyeol-ssi’s.

“Heading out?” Myungsoo asks, taking off his sneakers, holding back the question of “Where are you going?”. Despite everything that’s happened, Myungsoo still doesn’t think he’s close enough to Sungyeol-ssi to be privy to such information, and he tries not to overstep the line between… roommates? The person who saved a squirrel and said squirrel? Myungsoo shakes his head, clearing his thoughts. He shouldn’t think so hard on what he is to other people, especially to Sungyeol-ssi who is almost-certainly not human, and whom human standards of relationships probably don’t apply.

“Yes, I’m going out, but I will be back around dinner time. Don’t worry,” Sungyeol-ssi says with a smile, and Myungsoo manages to get out a “Bye, I’ll cook dinner this time!” before Sungyeol-ssi disappears down the stairs that leads from their rooftop house to the street.

Throwing off his cap, Myungsoo finds some kimbap in the fridge, eating as he finds his towel to go shower. He falls asleep easily after he’s clean.

 

 

When Myungsoo wakes up, it’s with the mild panic of realizing he had forgotten to set an alarm so he could make dinner like he had told Sungyeol-ssi. He picks up his bedside clock, sighing in relief to find that it is only 3 in the afternoon.  _Plenty of time to cook dinner_ , he thinks. In fact, as he stretches, getting out of bed, Myungsoo notes that he feels good enough that he thinks he should clean up the house a bit.

He remembers to set an alarm for 5pm, to remind him to start cooking dinner, after checking the contents in his refrigerator. Sungyeol-ssi had probably stocked up before he cooked dinner yesterday, when Myungsoo had been sleeping. Myungsoo gets his broom and dustpan, ready to sweep before mopping the floor. It’s already a good start.

It isn’t long before Myungsoo’s almost done with the mopping, left only with his bedroom. He’s putting effort into doing a good job until he spots something shiny under his bed. Lying flat on his stomach so he can stretch his arm to the far end of the bed, Myungsoo’s momentarily surprised when his fingers close around something cold. The belt that he pulls out has a shiny rectangular clasp, with a single “K” engraved on the back.

 

***

 

When Myungsoo first took on the job as the secretary of Chairman Kim, he hadn’t been that dumb to think he won’t eventually witness acts of transgression, illicit activities the Chairman indulges in in the office, away from the watchful eyes of his powerful wife. Even if there had been no rumors, the way Chairman Kim and his wife behaved in public spoke of a marriage born of power and relations, not love, but Myungsoo accepted the job nonetheless, because he had truly admired Chairman Kim’s passion for running the company even if he thinks the man might be cheating on his wife. Personal affairs of his colleagues and superiors were not his concern; Myungsoo had just wished to learn from the passionate man who had grown this company so big from his drive and dedication despite being so young.

Of course, in spite of knowing all these, Myungsoo hadn’t quite expected to see Chairman Kim with his hair mussed up, tie slightly askew as the man exited his office, walking towards Myungsoo’s desk on the first day of work. A look at the Chairman’s red and swollen lips and the hint of a lipstick stain hidden by the shirt collar left little room for doubt in Myungsoo’s mind regarding what had just happened in the office.

“Give me your belt,” the Chairman had said, and Myungsoo quickly unfastened his belt to hand over, trying not to be intimidated by the scary look of his superior. It was only after the Chairman returned to his office, the door closed again, that Myungsoo had let himself cover his face with his hands, wondering if he should have just stayed as a manager in a lower department.

 

 

Later, when Myungsoo had placed a stack of documents on Chairman Kim’s desk, he hadn’t expected the Chairman to start flipping through them immediately, easily finding the post-it that Myungsoo had stuck inside. The slight widening of the Chairman’s eyes as he read what was written made Myungsoo want to fidget, but he controlled himself, trying to not flinch under the intense glare that was turned towards him.

“I didn’t expect you would do such an accurate assessment of the companies that we are considering to buy over.”

“I’m the secretary to the Chairman of this company; shouldn’t I have some capabilities, at least?” Myungsoo heard himself say, almost regretting the words until the Chairman smiled at him, eyes turning gentler.

“I thought you were just a pretty face,” had been the Chairman’s reply, his bland tone of voice hiding a grin that turned his face younger.

“I’ll have you know that my face isn’t the only thing that’s pretty,” Myungsoo had said, referring to his beautiful mind, but realizing immediately how flirtatious the sentence sounds. The low chuckle the Chairman gave indicated that he had probably gotten the wrong idea, and Myungsoo had quickly excused himself.

 

 

The time Myungsoo spent at work passed quickly, and the passion of the Chairman motivated him to do better, willingly spending a good amount of his time outside work to continue studying business trends. Myungsoo hadn’t had time to think about much besides work, which was why he forgot he had given his only belt to the Chairman a few weeks prior, and never bought a new one afterwards, until a shiny new belt, neatly wrapped in a sleek grey box was placed in his hands.

“For you,” the Chairman had said simply, but Myungsoo had caught the unsure look in his eyes as he peeked under his eyelashes to observe Myungsoo’s reaction to the gift.

“Thank you,” Myungsoo had said, ready to leave, but the Chairman stood up, walking over to remove the belt from its packaging. Myungsoo had ended up standing stiffly when he realized the belt was being threaded through the loops of his pants, only relaxing after the Chairman closed the clasp and sat back down at his desk.

“When it’s just the two of us, I’ll like it if you call me Sunggyu-hyung, or just hyung,” the Chairman had said, lacing his fingers together, “I’m only two years older than you anyway.”

Myungsoo had nodded, too stunned in the moment to process everything that had happened. When he had got home that night, he noticed a small “K” engraved on the back of the belt clasp. 

 _K for Kim Sunggyu, or K for Kim Myungsoo_ , he had wondered, thumb gliding over the indention.

 

***

 

The sharp ringing of the alarm he set earlier jolts Myungsoo out of the trip down memory lane from finding the belt. He opens his wardrobe, putting the belt into a drawer he rarely opens, before quickly finishing his mopping so that he can start preparing dinner.

Myungsoo’s tasting the kimchi jjigae he’s made when he hears the front door open. He’s startled by the sudden contact of Sungyeol-ssi who’s snatching his spoon to steal a taste of the soup, whose face is breaking into a grin after his mouth closes around the spoon. When Sungyeol-ssi praises him for the taste,  Myungsoo feels his face heat up, which he attributes to the spiciness of the soup, and not the comforting sense of familiarity of Sungyeol-ssi being nearby, especially when he doesn’t know much about the guy, like… like what his favourite food is.

“Nachos.”

Sungyeol-ssi’s voice is low and serious, and Myungsoo takes in the fact that he must have said the last bit out loud, only to be rendered speechless when Sungyeol-ssi continues, “And I’m glad you feel comfortably familiar with me, because I feel the same about you too.”

_Shit, I must have said the whole thing out loud._

Stirring the soup instead of acknowledging Sungyeol-ssi’s comment, Myungsoo ponders over whether he should stop thinking of Sungyeol-ssi as someone he doesn’t know simply because he hasn’t met the other for more than a few days, and just accept the fact that despite their short meeting, he’s gotten more comfortable with the other than a lot of the people he had previously called friends. Maybe he can start by dropping the “ssi” when he addresses Sungyeol.

Over dinner, Myungsoo tries referring to Sungyeol without the “ssi” and in return receives a big smile from the man across the table. They chat idly about what happened when Myungsoo was working last night (nothing interesting, which is good news when he’s lying low), and Myungsoo decides to asks Sungyeol where he went during the day.

“Interview,” Sungyeol says, mouth full with rice, taking a spoonful of soup to make it go down.

“What kind of interview?”

“A job at your old company,” Sungyeol answers, head lowered from trying to scoff down steamed egg rolls, and Myungsoo doesn’t fully understand what he has just heard.

“…what? Why?” The words tumble off Myungsoo’s lips, his brows still knitted, uncomprehending.

“Because, I’ve thought about it, and there’re only 2 ways to expose the truth,” Sungyeol replies evenly, putting down his chopsticks. “Either you get rich and influential enough for people to believe your side of the story, or  _he_  has to be exposed for lying.”

There is a sudden seriousness in the air that wasn’t there previously, and Myungsoo holds back a shiver. “The first one probably won’t work. People don’t even listen to me when I tell my side of the story, how am I going to get anywhere near rich and influential…” Myungsoo mumbles, trailing off, his thoughts getting disorganized and hazy.

“Yeah, I know. That’s why I’m getting the job at your old place. So that I can get concrete evidence of the Chairman’s illicit affairs and photos of his infidelity,” Sungyeol’s staring at Myungsoo, concern clear on his face, and Myungsoo blinks to clear the fog shrouding his thoughts. It sounds reasonably enough, but –

“Don’t worry, I got the job already. And I know it won’t fully restore your life to what it was, but exposing the Chairman for what he is should reduce the heat of the scandal, and hopefully give you a normal life again.” The smile Sungyeol gives doesn’t fully reach his eyes, but Myungsoo thinks it might be on account of the tears pooling in his eyes. He reaches to hug Sungyeol over the table, thinking,  _thank you so much, Sungyeol-ah_.

“It won’t be the same life you’ve had before, but it’ll be more normal than what it is now, I hope,” Sungyeol says softly against Myungsoo’s hair, and Myungsoo closes his eyes to prevent the tears from spilling over.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, now we know who the business man (Chairman, actually) is... Though, once I edit the tags, I think no one would be surprised at his identity anymore (lol), but I enjoyed reading the comments on the previous chapter on what you guys thought about the asshole who made Myungsoo's life terrible before you knew it was Sunggyu (someone called him a jerkface, hahaha).
> 
> Also, I want to point out that Myungsoo might seem kind of weak so far in the story (I keep making him cry, I'm sorry) but he's really just very burdened by the situation. He's fully capable of taking care of himself, even if he's letting Sungyeol run the show right now. And as usual, I'll love to know what you think~ Leave me a kudos or comment if you've enjoyed :)


	5. Four

_IV._

A day passes, then another. Myungsoo’s lulled into the simple routine of making dinner for when Sungyeol comes back from work, and in turn eating the breakfast Sungyeol makes for when Myungsoo’s shift ends. There’s only 1 bed in the house, but after the first few nights, Myungsoo tells Sungyeol he can sleep on the bed instead of the couch. It isn’t like they both need to sleep at the same time anyway; might as well take advantage of their completely opposite schedules.

In some way, the way Sungyeol lives in the day, while Myungsoo spends his active hours at night (though not entirely by choice) parallels their disposition. Sungyeol’s bright, warm and he’s scarily honest about his feelings most of the time, while Myungsoo’s mostly grey, dark thoughts swimming in foggy light with his own feelings and thoughts so convoluted that sometimes that he doesn’t know how to untangle any of it. It isn’t that Sungyeol is easy to read, because Myungsoo still can’t understand how the guy works, but uncovering Sungyeol might be much easier than unravelling himself, even if he lives in his own body and mind.

While Sungyeol leaves for work, Myungsoo grows used to lying down alone in mussed up sheets that smell faintly of the body wash they share, mixed with the smell of Sungyeol. He isn’t sure when it had happened but somewhere along the way, the light of Lee Sungyeol has rubbed off him, a bit. Myungsoo finds more clarity in his thoughts, spending less time dwelling, or even revelling in the pit of emptiness. He recognizes the foggy haze clouding his days as nonchalance towards life and things in general, well aware that that is probably more worrying than the initial frustration, anger and rage he had felt after he got dumped and fired. Myungsoo still gets sucked into the spiraling void sometimes, but he has enough sense of mind to walk himself back into the happier thoughts, or at least avoid the dark ones.

Myungsoo’s so focused on how he’s getting better, how he and Sungyeol get into a familiar pattern of sharing the house and their habits that he forgets. He forgets all the bad things and all the hardship he endured, because there’s something  _more_  in the present now than there is in the issues of his past.

He forgets.

 

 

It’s one of the midnight shift at the convenience store when Myungsoo’s casually restocking chips when he hears a song he doesn’t know the title of playing on the radio, and Myungsoo remembers where he was the last time he heard the song.

 

***

 

He was lying with his head on Sunggyu’s lap in his office, late after work had ended. Somewhere along the way, Myungsoo had stopped calling Sunggyu _hyung_ , or basically anything other than his name, though that was, of course, still reserved for when it was just the two of them. In public Myungsoo still referred to Sunggyu as Chairman Kim.

Sunggyu’s tie was loose around his neck, but he was neatly dressed otherwise. The door was locked. Sunggyu’s long fingers were slowly threading through Myungsoo’s hair, catching every once in a while on some tangled dry spots where Myungsoo didn’t spread conditioner evenly on. The tugs weren’t really pleasant, but the general patting was comfortable, and Myungsoo had closed his eyes, savouring the quiet moment they shared with only the radio playing softly in the background.

Sunggyu liked having some music on most of the time, and Myungsoo hadn’t minded, because sometimes, with his eyes closed and Sunggyu touching him idly for closeness rather than for something more, Myungsoo had felt a peaceful kind of satisfaction that might be bliss. Times like those, Myungsoo had imagined what they might have been, if Sunggyu wasn’t a Chairman and Myungsoo his secretary, having a secret affair.

He hadn’t planned on getting close to Sunggyu in this way at all, and Myungsoo wasn’t sure if the ugly twist in his chest when he saw Sunggyu with his wife at events was jealousy or if the hollow squeeze in his stomach when he stole moments of Sunggyu away from work was guilt. Myungsoo didn’t know how he had slowly let Kim Sunggyu worm his way into his figurative heart, and when he had stopped caring about the wrongness of this illicit relationship. Instead, he learnt to take what he could get in the moment, the way Sunggyu did. Nothing felt inexplicably right the way popular culture told him they should, but Myungsoo thought the small moments of bliss were good enough. He was greedy; he was so happy with whatever scraps of Sunggyu he could get.

When Sunggyu had leaned in to press a kiss to his chapped lips, Myungsoo had returned it with a fervor he didn’t know he had, as the song trailed off in the background.

 

***

 

“Myungsoo?”

Myungsoo’s looking up from the shelves, instinctively reacting to his name because he forgot. He forgot he’s still a disgraced figure in public; that he’d taken on this graveyard shift to lie low. He forgot, and that’s how he gets a picture of him taken.

 

 

Pulling his cap way low on the walk home, Myungsoo counts himself lucky that it had only been Woohyun. Woohyun was one of the people he used to call friends, although Myungsoo supposes, he’s technically Sunggyu’s friend first. Woohyun doesn’t work at Sunggyu’s company, but he had visited often enough that Myungsoo had found himself chatting with the talkative man.

Although Woohyun took a photo of Myungsoo while he was caught off-guard in the store, he had quickly deleted the photo under Myungsoo’s watchful eye once he realized that Myungsoo wasn’t letting him go otherwise. The height Myungsoo has over the shorter man, combined with the hard look he’d learnt to give to nosy strangers had come in handy. Woohyun had hurriedly left with an “I’m sorry”, the words heavy with more meaning than for the secret photo he took.

Hand gripping the railing as he climbs the stairs to his house, Myungsoo feels the tiredness that had been held at bay with adrenaline and worry wash over him now, and his stomach grumbles at the thought of food. The sun’s shining fully now, although it’s still low in the sky, and Myungsoo breathes in the fresh morning air, letting the proximity of his house and the knowledge that Sungyeol’s just a door away comfort him.

 

 

“You’re back!” Sungyeol’s smiling at him, eyes curving into crescents, and Myungsoo manages a smile in response. He doesn’t think he should tell Sungyeol about the incident with Woohyun since he has managed to resolve it, so he just flops onto the couch, picking up the glass of juice Sungyeol has placed on the table. Myungsoo lets the lull of Sungyeol’s voice soothe him, and he doesn’t know when he fell asleep, because the next thing he knows, he’s waking up to Sungyeol shaking him gently.

“Myungsoo, are you very tired? Your eyes started closing while I was talking, and you almost dropped the glass.”

Sungyeol’s looking at him, concerned, and Myungsoo has to blink a few times before he finds his voice to say, “I think I should go and sleep first.”

He isn’t sure if him falling asleep on Sungyeol while getting to the room is because he’s more exhausted by the shock of seeing Woohyun than he thought, or if it’s because he feels comfortable enough about Sungyeol – trusts him even – to fall asleep then and there.

 

 

Sungyeol hasn’t returned when Myungsoo wakes up, which is the norm now that Myungsoo isn’t sleeping more than half his day away. Myungsoo showers and changes. He finds the grocery list Sungyeol has stuck to the refrigerator with a magnet, getting his wallet so he can go out to restock their fridge. After the scare with Woohyun yesterday (or the wee hours of the morning today, technically), Myungsoo adds sunglasses in addition the snapback he wears for disguise when he heads out, aware that he’s being paranoid because he’s only heading to a small local mart, and not the supermarket. The mart is where he gets most of his things now, because the old couple that runs the store hardly keeps up with the news, and the patrons are mostly elderly ladies who don’t own televisions so they’ve not heard of the scandal.

Myungsoo doesn’t realize he’s been biting his lower lip, a habit he has when he’s concentrating on something, like finding the right brand of groceries while keeping an eye out for strangers, until he tastes the metallic tang of blood. While he doesn’t usually bite his lips to the point of it cracking and bleeding, it has definitely happened more times than he remembers, so Myungsoo merely licks his lips and dabs the surface blood off with the back of his hands. He continues finding items off the list, adding a lip balm into his basket once he’s done, then heads to the cashier.

At the cashier, which is really just a counter with an old till machine, Myungsoo waits for the old couple to check out his groceries. The old ahjumeoni ambles over, and behind her, Myungsoo sees the white-haired ahjussi struggling with a cardboard box. The old lady turns at the sounds of her husband stumbling, and Myungsoo rushes over to hold the box before it falls or injure any of them, because it’s clear that the box is much too heavy for the elderly shop keepers to manage.

“Thank you, young man, would you mind helping us move this over to the shelf there?”

Myungsoo obliges, lifting the box and placing it where he’s directed, surprised that the ahjussi had managed to carry the weight despite his age and frail frame. He walks back to the counter once he’s done, and the old lady starts keying in his items one by one on the machine, because they don’t have scanners or any of the new equipment. It takes a while, but she starts an inane chat, and Myungsoo finds himself responding with an occasional sound of agreement. When she’s done, and Myungsoo has paid, he loads the groceries into plastic bags by himself, not wanting to trouble the old couple.

“Won’t it be nice if a young man like you is around to help us move heavy things once in a while huh?”

Myungsoo looks up at the ahjussi’s comment, and sees the ahjumeonni nodding, and he wonders if this is an invitation for a job. When he asks, he’s answered with a twinkle in the old man’s eyes, followed by questions of when he could start working. After telling them that he works from 12pm to 7am at a nearby convenience store, the old couple asks if it would be too much for him to come in from 8am to 11am to help them bring in the new stock and heavy boxes, since that is when deliveries come. Last night being an exception, Myungsoo’s usually not that tired when he finishes his shift, and 3 hours of mundane lifting of groceries and boxes doesn’t sound too difficult, so he agrees. He could do with an additional source of income, even if Sungyeol’s working as well. It doesn’t hurt to save up while he can.

 

 

When Sungyeol’s back, Myungsoo tells him about the new job he’s gotten. They’re seating facing each other, eating when Myungsoo says this news casually, and he didn’t think it’ll be a big thing, but Sungyeol’s giving him a look of concern, saying, “Why are you taking another part-time job?”

“The mart is run by an old couple and they could really use some help with moving heavy items, so why not? It won’t affect too many things, and I can earn extra money on the side,” Myungsoo states.

“Oh,” Sungyeol breathes out, “I guess it’s for a good reason.”

There’s a pause before Sungyeol speaks again, in a small voice this time, his head lowered and looking at his rice bowl, “But it means I won’t get to see you before I leave for work. We won’t be able to have breakfast together.”

Myungsoo hasn’t thought of that, and he’s surprised again by how honest and open Sungyeol is about his thoughts. He reaches a hand over to cover Sungyeol’s hand resting on the table, offering, “I didn’t think of that when I agreed, but we’ll still be able to have dinner together, right?”

Sungyeol gives a small nod, and Myungsoo isn’t sure how they got to this point where Sungyeol gets upset that he won’t be able to have breakfast with him in the morning when just a month ago they were strangers. Given how their schedules don’t match, breakfast and dinner are about the only time they see each other, and Myungsoo can sort of understand why Sungyeol is upset, but the extent of upset Sungyeol is at isn’t what Myungsoo expects. Then again, maybe Myungsoo just takes longer to warm up to people than Sungyeol does. Myungsoo pats Sungyeol’s hand a few times, and picks up his chopsticks to resume eating, because he doesn’t know what to say to comfort the man.

 

 

A few days passes as they settle into the new routine, Myungsoo heading straight to the mart once he’s done with his shift, where the old couple gives him a kimbap for breakfast before he starts work, while Sungyeol makes breakfast for one instead of the double serving he’s used to. Sungyeol isn’t around when Myungsoo returns from work, and dinner time has to be shifted slightly later because Myungsoo’s too tired to wake up at his usual 5pm to start making dinner now that he’s sleeping at 1pm instead of 9am. Sungyeol accepts the change in dinner time by taking a shower before dinner while Myungsoo cooks. It’s becoming familiar again, their days.

While Sungyeol’s in the shower, and the stew is boiling, Myungsoo recalls that he had finished the shampoo when he showered earlier, and he finds a new bottle to pass to Sungyeol through the bathroom door. Actually, he’s kind of surprised that Sungyeol has been in the shower for 10 minutes now but hasn’t asked for a new bottle of shampoo, but Myungsoo considers that maybe not everyone shampoos before they soap their body, so it’s not a big deal.

He’s knocking on the bathroom door, shampoo bottle in head, and he hears Sungyeol move around as he yells out a, “Give me a minute.”

Myungsoo waits by the door, checking the wall clock for when a minute’s up. He twists the knob, not expecting it to turn (who doesn’t lock their door when they use the toilet?), but it does, and because he had been leaning too much weight on the door, assuming that it would be locked, Myungsoo stumbles into the bathroom. The shriek Sungyeol gives as Myungsoo collides into him is undignified, and Myungsoo would laugh if he isn’t so busy trying not to fall to the ground. As it is, they managed to stay standing once Myungsoo recovers his balance, and Sungyeol’s quickly tugging a t-shirt over his head. Myungsoo finds the shampoo bottle on the floor while his brain takes in the fact that Sungyeol only had pants on when he had accidentally opened the bathroom door. He’s bending down to pick up the dropped bottle, recalling the picture of Sungyeol he had caught while falling: topless, mouth rounded in a surprised “oh”, clutching his t-shirt to his chest like he’s a girl who needs to cover her boobs –

Wait. Were there  _red marks_  on Sungyeol’s chest?

Myungsoo’s head whips up, taking in Sungyeol who’s now fully dressed and looking at him, and his mouth opens before he had time to consider his words, “Are those hickeys?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woohyun makes an appearance, lol. If you recall, there was a customer who recognised Myungsoo in an earlier chapter as well... is it Woohyun? Is it someone else? (Does it matter?)
> 
> Also, Myungsoo isn't the most observant narrator here, and his assumption that Sungyeol is open and honest isn't completely true, if the cliffhanger at the end hasn't clued you in yet. ;) I hope you're looking forward to the next chapter, and I'll love to hear what you think ^^


	6. Five

_V._

Sungyeol’s staring at him with wide eyes, and Myungsoo sees what might be guilt ( _guilt?_ ) crawling over his face.

“Are those really hickeys?” Myungsoo asks again, because Sungyeol hasn’t answered, having half a mind to just lift up Sungyeol’s shirt to check with his own eyes. He refrains himself, because but it isn’t his right to, squeezing the shampoo bottle he holds in his hand instead.

There’s a gurgling sound of water splashing out of the pot, and Sungyeol looks towards the kitchen, and then passes by Myungsoo to turn off the stove. Myungsoo had forgotten about the stew. He wrings the bottle as he watches Sungyeol remove the lid of the pot, taking a cloth to wipe up the soup that’s spilled over. Myungsoo watches Sungyeol move, mind going blank now. He closes his eyes and takes in a shaky breath.

“What- Wh-Why are you evading my question, Sungyeol?” Myungsoo gets out, after failing to voice out the many questions going through his head right now, “Are you hiding something?”

Sungyeol freezes on the spot, and Myungsoo can see the tension in his neck as he pauses midway while rinsing out the cloth. Myungsoo doesn’t want this, whatever this is. This game of questions and answers, this secret that Sungyeol has, this tenseness in a man so cheerfully bright otherwise. Myungsoo really doesn’t want nor need any of this.

“Sit down first. I’ll explain while we eat,” Sungyeol finally says, still unmoving. Myungsoo can’t read the meanings in the stillness of Sungyeol’s back, so he gives up trying.

Myungsoo’s looking at the floor as he walks stiffly to the couch where they always eat, placing the shampoo on the floor when he finally notices that he hasn’t let go of it. Sungyeol places the pot on some magazines on the table, and returns for rice. Myungsoo just sits without saying a word, numbness taking over him.

Sungyeol’s peering at Myungsoo. Myungsoo just waits. He has so many questions, but Sungyeol hasn’t answered the first one, so he doesn’t think asking more right now would get the other to talk. It seems to be the right strategy, because eventually Sungyeol sighs, and speaks first.

“Why aren’t you talking?”

That isn’t the response Myungsoo’s been waiting for, so he just raises an eyebrow, and chews his rice.

After a while, Sungyeol sighs again, running a hand through his hair, “Is it important whether those are hickeys? They could be birthmarks, you know.”

“Are they though?” Myungsoo hears himself say, “If they were, you would have just answered my question, instead of evading them.”

Sungyeol takes in the unblinking stare Myungsoo’s giving him, and he relents, “Yeah, okay. Yes, they are hickeys. What does it matter if I have hickeys? I’m a grown man, aren’t I?”

“Yeah, you are,” Myungsoo concedes. “It doesn’t affect me what you do outside,” Myungsoo looks steadily at Sungyeol until he nods, before continuing, “More than the fact that you have hickeys, it’s that you are hiding them from me like there’s a bigger secret.”

Myungsoo picks up a slight nervousness from Sungyeol at the word “secret” and the worst possible scenario suddenly leaps into his mind –

“Are those from Sunggyu?”

 

 

Myungsoo hears what Sungyeol says about how it’s not what he thinks; that yes, these are from Sunggyu-hyung but no, nothing’s going on between them, and really, he’s still trying to get those photos and evidence to expose the Chairman so nothing has changed. Myungsoo hears all this but he doesn’t register most of it, except the part where Sungyeol has called the Chairman “Sunggyu-hyung”, because there is only one reason for him to call the Chairman that.

He’s still trying to figure out whether he had heard wrongly, when Sungyeol’s saying, “Myungsoo, I didn’t want to tell because I didn’t want you to think I’m not helping you expose the truth –“

“When you say expose the truth now, won’t  _you_  be personally involved as well?” Myungsoo interrupts, catching the brief surprise Sungyeol has on his face before he resumes a more neutral expression. He had assumed that Sungyeol was working in the company so he can get photos of the Chairman’s affairs with  _other_  people, not with Sungyeol himself.

“Don’t worry about me, I won’t be affected by it,” Sungyeol states, looking at Myungsoo with concern, and Myungsoo wants to laugh, because he should be concerned for himself and what he’s gotten himself into.

“Do you realize what you are doing? You’re going to end up going through what I did. Even if you have photos, you’ll just end up exposing the Chairman for his affairs, but he’s not going to suffer for it,” Myungsoo finds himself gritting out, anger slowly building.

Sungyeol looks a bit deflated now, and Myungsoo reels in his anger. “Look, I’m sorry for sounding harsh, but you do realize that this, whatever thing you’re doing that involves the Chairman, won’t turn out well, and not only will it not expose him as a liar who seduces his employees, but it’ll drag you into a scandal?” Myungsoo tries his best to sound calm, or at least neutral, and Sungyeol curls up where he’s sitting on the couch.

“It’s not what you think it is, and I have a way to let everyone know that the Chairman has wronged and betrayed you,” Sungyeol finally says, and Myungsoo lets out a breath he didn’t know he was holding.

“Okay, let’s say that’s true, but you are… somewhat personally involved, and if a scandal breaks out, you’ll be bearing the brunt of it, you know that, right?”

Sungyeol looks up into Myungsoo’s eyes, then lowers them, mumbling, “Doesn’t matter. I won’t be staying as a human for long.”

_Oh_. Myungsoo hasn’t even considered this, so used to Sungyeol that he has forgotten that he is a squirrel and not human. He licks his lips, tasting the slight tinge of blood from when he bit too hard some time during the conversation, and says after opening and closing his mouth a few times, “I-I don’t know what to say now.”

The hand on his arm comes as a surprise, as Sungyeol smiles sadly at him, saying, “It’s alright. I know what I’m doing.”

When Sungyeol lets go, gathering up the empty dishes to wash, Myungsoo slumps into the seat, fingers reaching up to pinch his nose bridge. He’s not sure if he trusts Sungyeol’s words, but he really wants to.

 

 

There aren’t any photos of Sunggyu with Sungyeol or anyone else popping up in the news or media, but Myungsoo doesn’t stop tracking all the websites. He knows Sungyeol had told him that he’s being careful, that he won’t get wrapped up in a scandal, and that his relationship with the Chairman isn’t what Myungsoo thinks it is, but Myungsoo worries nonetheless. He doesn’t see Sungyeol much, except at dinner time, but even that is getting rarer because Sungyeol comes back late from work, smelling like smoke and alcohol, just minutes before Myungsoo has to head out to the convenience store for work.

Sungyeol doesn’t look drunk, and his breath never smells like alcohol, but the smell clings on his clothing along with the ashy smell of smoke, and Myungsoo doesn’t know if he’s been drinking or not. He would ask, but Sungyeol always dismisses the question, saying he knows what he’s doing, and asks Myungsoo to please trust him and be patient.

Myungsoo doesn’t know if he can do either.

So instead, he grabs his jacket and heads out without a word.

 

 

Myungsoo’s sitting behind the cashier, flipping through the newspapers during the lull of his shift, when the bell rings. He doesn’t look up, face still hidden by the newspapers in front of him; just grabs his cap from where he’s taken it off to place it back on his messy hair, waiting for the customer to buy what they need and be gone so he can go back to the papers.

When the customer taps the counter to get his attention, Myungsoo puts his newspapers away, standing up to scan the purchases, except there’s nothing on the counter. He risks a quick glance at the customer to see if they’re holding anything to buy, but instead realizes that he recognizes the man in front of him. It’s Woohyun again.

Myungsoo sinks a bit, and he tiredly rubs his face, not bothering to hide since he hadn’t gotten any trouble after he last saw the man. “Are you buying anything? If not, please leave,” Myungsoo grumbles, and Woohyun just stares at him.

After what seems like ages with no words passing between them, Myungsoo is getting ready to just sit back down on his chair, when Woohyun says, “He’s sorry, you know.”

_What?_  Myungsoo narrows his eyes at the fidgeting man in front of him, wondering if he had correctly understood what Woohyun means. Before he can ask, Woohyun bows his head slightly, and runs out of the store.

_What just happened?_

 

 

After ending both of his work shifts and sleeping, Myungsoo tidies up the house, finding empty bags of nacho chips in the living room. He dumps them into the bin, wondering why Sungyeol hadn’t cleared them himself, and starts making dinner for two. Even though Sungyeol isn’t home for dinner more often than not lately, Myungsoo still cooks for both of them, just in case. If Sungyeol doesn’t eat his portion, Myungsoo can just eat the leftovers for lunch after work anyway, he reasons.

When Sungyeol comes back around 9 in the evening, later than when he first started working, but earlier than the previous few nights, Myungsoo scoops a bowl of rice for him. Myungsoo’s own bowl is already half gone, but he waits until Sungyeol settles down before he resumes eating.

Sungyeol places a plastic container on the table, peeling off the lid and cling wrap, and Myungsoo sees japchae.

“What’s the occasion?” Myungsoo asks, waving his chopsticks over the new dish.

“What occasion?” Sungyeol asks innocently, digging in to the meal. “I just bought this on the way back because it smells really good.”

Myungsoo chews and nods. He supposes Sungyeol won’t have reason to know that japchae is usually only eaten at parties or special occasions. It’s not like a squirrel should be expected to know Korean customs.

The rest of the evening passes fairly insignificantly, and Myungsoo only remembers the empty chip bags he had found when he finds Sungyeol munching on nachos with the television on mute in the background.

“You should throw your own rubbish once you’re done eating. I had to dump four of these empty bags for you today,” Myungsoo comments, and Sungyeol turns to look at him.

“Okay. I won’t do it again,” Sungyeol says, eyes unreadable as he turns back to the television, finding the remote to unmute it.

Whatever Myungsoo was going to reply is forgotten when he hears what the newscaster says on television.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As you can probably tell from the chapter count on this fic, we're nearing the end now. :) There's one more chapter, and then an epilogue afterwards. I hope you're enjoying it so far :)
> 
> Also, some things changed in this chapter... Sungyeol isn't exactly what Myungsoo thought he would be... or is he? Secrets, so many secrets. Hmm, and there's also that random thing Woohyun said, what do you think that's about?


	7. Six

_VI._

_“…following the scandal that happened last winter, the Chairman of Kim Enterprise has issued a press conference revealing his extramarital affairs, and that he will be stepping down from his position…”_

_What?_  Myungsoo’s mind is a blank, and he grabs the back of the couch, because he doesn’t know whether his legs will give out on him suddenly.  _What did the news just say?_ He turns to look at Sungyeol, who’s still staring at the television screen, and Myungsoo realizes there’s more –

_“…apologizes for his unfaithful behaviour, and for lying about his active role in his relationship with his past secretary who had been unfairly disgraced in the scandal…”_

Myungsoo feels his legs wobble, and he’s lucky he lands mostly on the couch when he falls, because he can’t believe what he’s hearing.

 

 

When Myungsoo finally collects himself, he notices that Sungyeol has already turned off the television. Sungyeol’s looking at him with concern, although the nachos that steadily make their way into his mouth interrupt the seriousness of the scene. They spend a few minutes like that, Myungsoo staring at Sungyeol, Sungyeol holding the gaze but still intently eating nachos, until Myungsoo finally thinks to say, “Was that what you were talking about? Is this what you meant when you told me to be patient and to trust you?”

Myungsoo doesn’t know what’s more ridiculous, the picture he paints, half lying on the couch where he’s fallen, asking what sounds like questions based on farfetched assumptions, or Sungyeol nodding slowly to those question, serious.

“What– How?” is all Myungsoo manages to get out, and Sungyeol’s answering like he had expected this.

“I didn’t have to do much, actually. Sunggyu-hyung– he was already guilt stricken with how he had lied about the scandal, and I just listened and talked to him until he decided to tell the truth himself and resign. ”

Myungsoo’s more confused now, because what did Sungyeol just say?  _Sunggyu? Guilt stricken?_  Myungsoo would scoff, memories of how Sunggyu had been so cruel after the scandal broke out, accusing Myungsoo of seducing him when the opposite might have been closer to the truth, and how when Myungsoo tried to call him to get an explanation only to learnt that Sunggyu’s number was no longer in use. Myungsoo would scoff, except he suddenly remembers the cryptic line Woohyun had said earlier in the convenience store:  _“He’s sorry, you know.”_

Gripping the seat tightly, and sitting up too straight, Myungsoo considers what he’s just learnt, and blurts out, “I-is this… for real?”

The hand that reaches over to pats his arm is warm, and Myungsoo doesn’t realize he has tears in his eyes, until a drop splashes onto Sungyeol’s hand, leaving a wet trail as it slides off.  _Why am I crying?_  Myungsoo wipes his eyes, clenching his jaw as he tries to processes the situation in a more logical light, but he’s just  _feeling_ , emotional, and he can’t seem to grasp anything concrete about the whole thing.

“What is going on? Why– How did this happen?”

 

 

After Sungyeol gets a warm cup of tea for Myungsoo, he explains everything. Myungsoo listens with his hands wrapped around the mug, glad for the warmth it gives, balancing it on his knees so he won’t drop it. Sungyeol explains how he had gone to work at a desk position at Kim Enterprise initially to get photos or video recordings of Sunggyu’s affairs so he could expose it to the media, but one day, he had been called to bring coffee to Sunggyu’s office when his new secretary was on leave. When he had gone in, Sunggyu had looked quite tired, but once he had seen Sungyeol, he took a long glance up and down and asked Sungyeol if he was interested in providing him with some  _favours_. Sungyeol shivers a bit at the word, and Myungsoo feels like hugging his knees, if not for the mug he’s balancing.

“I wasn’t interested in getting involved with Sunggyu-hyung, but he… can be rather persuasive, and somewhere along the way, I thought, maybe if I do this, I can get close enough to him to get the evidence I went there for. So I…”

Myungsoo doesn’t really want nor need to hear about what Sungyeol did with Sunggyu, so he waves his hand, asking Sungyeol to move on, and Sungyeol swallows a bit, before continuing, “Anyway, nothing really happened besides the hickeys you saw, because instead of continuing whatever he had been doing, Sunggyu-hyung ended up crying on me. He told me he’s sorry but he’s not interested any more, and I should get dressed and leave.”

Sungyeol rubs his hands together, stalling, before he resumes, “I should have gotten out of the room then, but I hesitated because he seemed genuinely upset. He started mumbling about how he shouldn’t be doing this, and how he’s tired of lying, and I don’t think he even noticed that I hadn’t left the room like I was supposed to.”

Sungyeol explains how he later found out that Sunggyu had been making moves on a few of his staff after the scandal but never really did anything after a few initial touches, like what happened with Sungyeol. No one had been willing to say anything to support Sungyeol because they didn’t want to get fired, and without anything illicit really happening, Sungyeol couldn’t get the proof he went for, so he had to find another way. That’s how he eventually went back to see Sunggyu.

Sunggyu didn’t make any moves on him. Instead he had seemed glad that Sungyeol was there for company, and somehow they had ended up talking in a small pub after work. After a few nights of talking, consisting mostly Sunggyu being mopey, guilt-stricken, but never revealing the reason why, a drunken Sunggyu had let slip that he’s really sorry about what he had done to Myungsoo.

At the mention of his name, Myungsoo tenses up, but he doesn’t stop Sungyeol who’s still talking.

“So after listening to him talk, I realized that Sunggyu-hyung was already guilt-stricken himself, and maybe he’ll be willing to clear up the scandal if I just… talked to him more. I didn’t actively suggest that he should release a press conference or resign or anything like that, but I can’t say I didn’t do anything that might have prompted him to expose everything himself.”

At that last statement, Sungyeol sinks a bit into his seat, and rubs his face tiredly. Myungsoo suddenly understands why Sungyeol’s been coming back so late recently. It must have been the talks with Sunggyu, and he doesn’t know how he should feel about Sungyeol doing so much to help him bring the truth to light, at the expense of Sungyeol’s own conscience.

“Sungyeol, don’t feel guilty about what Sunggyu did. You didn’t force him, so don’t take that blame for yourself,” Myungsoo says softly, wondering how he’ll ever repay Sungyeol for all that he’s done for him. Sungyeol just smiles, with sad eyes.

“I know it’s not my fault, but I can’t help but feel partly responsible for causing a successful businessman’s demise, even if he was wrong when he did what he did to you,” Sungyeol says, and Myungsoo puts down his mug, reaching over to hug Sungyeol, who’s starting to shake. Patting Sungyeol’s back, Myungsoo settles his chin on Sungyeol’s shoulder, trying to provide comfort in return for the many times he’s received it from Sungyeol.

 

 

Despite the happenings of the late evening, Myungsoo still has to go to work, because it’s too late to call in sick or find someone to replace him for the shift, so he reluctantly leaves a puffy-eyed Sungyeol behind, making him promise to try and sleep.

Myungsoo still wears his cap low, unsure if the news would change how he’s being treated by strangers so quickly, if at all. He doesn’t know how he feels about Sunggyu coming out to expose the truth himself. Although he had thought that he would be happy, or at least relieved when the truth is out, the matter of the fact is that right now, Myungsoo just doesn’t know what to feel or think. Especially not when he knows how much Sungyeol had to go through for it to happen, and he still hadn’t properly thanked the man (squirrel).

As he works, Myungsoo also considers what Sungyeol had said, about the demise of Sunggyu, former successful and driven businessman, now disgraced and shamed. Even if Sunggyu had been cruel in the last of their relationship ( _if it can be called that_ ), Myungsoo still feels bad for the man he had once loved ( _maybe it wasn’t love in the purest sense, but it had been something_ ). Myungsoo sighs, accidentally kicking an empty box he forgot to put away, and decides that that’s the least of his concerns; he should be thinking about Sungyeol instead, especially since he did so much to help Myungsoo expose the truth, and how can Myungsoo ever thank him for such a big favour? (Sungyeol had insisted that he’s just repaying the debt he owes Myungsoo, but Myungsoo thinks he still owes the man-squirrel  _something_.)

When he’s finally done with work (both at the convenience store and the mart), quickly helping the elderly couple at the mart move groceries, and getting permission to leave early, Myungsoo hopes the nachos he buys are at least a sort of thank you, until he can think of something better. He’s running the way back, hoping he can catch Sungyeol before he leaves for work ( _will he still go to work now?_  Myungsoo wonders), and he throws his front door open, but there’s no one.

 _Oh. He must have missed Sungyeol_ , Myungsoo thinks, looking at the clock.  _Sungyeol must have left for work already_. Myungsoo puts down the bags of chips and his bag, walking to the fridge to find something to eat.

 

 

But there’s something wrong. Myungsoo’s pacing around the house, wondering if Sungyeol’s going to be back late, but it’s already 9pm, and yesterday Sungyeol had been back around that time. He doesn’t know what he can do; it’s not like he can call Sungyeol when he doesn’t have a handphone, so Myungsoo’s walking around the house, until he suddenly realizes –

Sungyeol’s things are gone. Myungsoo’s eyes scan the shoe rack, making sure he hadn’t seen wrongly the first time, then hurriedly runs to check the wardrobe before he lets it sink in. Sungyeol’s things are gone; Sungyeol’s gone.

 

 

Myungsoo manages to call in sick this time, the manager at the convenience store nice enough to cover his shift for the night. He lies in bed, wondering how he didn’t notice anything amiss when he had first gotten home from work that morning. Myungsoo’s tempted to sink into the void and just mope, but he recalls Sungyeol’s smiling face, and he can’t. So Myungsoo tosses and turns until the first light shines into his room, and he remembers that he hadn’t told the elderly couple at the mart about taking a day off. It’s not like he’s doing himself any good by lying on his bed, so eventually, Myungsoo picks himself up and heads to the mart.

At the mart, Myungsoo doesn’t get any questions about why he’s 15 minutes late, or why he’s in his own clothes instead of the convenience store uniform he usually arrives in. The old lady just asks him to move the boxes of fruits to the shelf, and he follows their instructions. When he’s done for the day, the old lady motions for him to come to the counter, and she hands him a white envelope. Myungsoo hadn’t even realized that it’s been a month since he started working, just thanking the owner for his paycheck, and turning to go, but she places another envelope, a brown one this time, into his hands.

“A young man came by yesterday after you left and asked me to give this to you when you turn up for work today. He made me promise that I would only hand this to you after you are done with your shift, although he won’t tell me why,” the old lady says, and Myungsoo stares at the brown envelope, quickly tearing it open.

_Hi Soo. If you’re reading this, it means I have already left. Don’t look for me, I won’t be in human form anymore, so don’t try. I’m sorry I have to leave this way, but I didn’t dare to stay longer. I am already becoming too attached to this world, but my deal for staying as a human for 2 months is almost up. Despite your impression of me, I am too much of a coward to do this any other way, so I chose the easiest way out for me._

_I’m sorry I can’t stay by your side anymore, but I’m just glad I got to resolve your problem before I had to go. Please don’t worry about me. I hope you will live your life happily._

 

There isn’t even a sign-off or any names mentioned, but Myungsoo knows this is from Sungyeol. He knows it’s pointless, but Myungsoo finds himself looking around, even asking the old lady which direction Sungyeol had headed yesterday when he had left. But even though Myungsoo spends the whole afternoon searching all the places the guy could gone to in the vicinity, he doesn’t find Sungyeol.

When Myungsoo gets home, exhausted and hungry, he sees the nachos he bought yesterday, still on the kitchen table. He can’t help but wonder if the reason Sungyeol had been stuffing himself with his favourite food a few days ago was because he already knew he had to leave soon.  _That bastard_. Myungsoo rips open one of the bags and devours the chips, half because he’s famished and half because he’s angry. Though whether he’s angry at Sungyeol for leaving like this, or at himself for not managing to thank Sungyeol before he left, taking him and his help almost for granted, Myungsoo doesn’t know. When he’s halfway through the second bag, Myungsoo feels his cheeks get wet, and he doesn’t bother wiping the tears away as they flowed.

 

 

When he goes to work these days, Myungsoo keeps his cap low, because although people don’t shun him anymore when they recognize his face, they do a double-take and give him looks of sympathy (or pity), and he doesn’t want that either. He’s still doing his job at the convenience store and the mart, even though a few days after the news broke, one of his former friends, Howon, had offered him an office job at the small company he runs with a friend. Myungsoo had thanked him, saying that he’ll let him know after he thinks about it, but it’s been 2 weeks and Myungsoo hasn’t called the number on the namecard Howon had given him. He’s not sure why he hasn’t. The pay is definitely much better than what he gets doing 2 part-time jobs, but Myungsoo doesn’t know how he’ll feel about working in Howon’s company.

It’s not like he needs to worry about rent for a while anyway, Myungsoo thinks, remembering how he had went to find the landlady to pay his rent after the 2 months advance had passed, only to find out that Sungyeol had paid for another 4 months’ worth a few days before he had left. The guy was really good at taking care of Myungsoo, both in person and secretly, until he had done that thing where he’d left without warning.

Myungsoo shakes his head, trying to snap out of his thoughts. Nowadays, he tries his best not to think about anything related to Sungyeol or the scandal, just trying to live his life normally, earning enough to buy groceries and eat, until he can figure out what he wants to do. He tries not to think about the strange man-squirrel who had appeared in his life and turned it around, or about the fact that the reason why he can go out in public and have a normal job if he chooses to right now is because of what Sungyeol has done. He tries not to look back at all these memories because Sungyeol had told him to  _live his life happily_ , and he can’t do that if he’s getting dull aches in his chest from thinking about Sungyeol.

Myungsoo tries his best to live the life Sungyeol wants for him, because it’s the only way he can think of to thank the man for saving him.

 

 

In the end, Myungsoo never did call Howon back. He doesn’t think he can stand working in an office at a small desk and be stuck in stuffy shirts all day. He gets lucky with finding a proper full time job when he mentioned that he’s been job searching to the old couple at the mart one day, and they had told him about the new tropical fish shop opening down the street.

The interview with the short but well-built shop owner had gone easily enough, and the man who’s passionate about tropical fish had turned out to be friendly and quite animated despite his initial tough appearance. Myungsoo is glad to get the job, and even if the pay isn’t as good as working in an office, he earns enough to pay rent and groceries, and have some left to save, so he doesn’t mind. He quits his convenience store job, but still helps out the old couple with deliveries when he isn’t needed at the fish shop.

 _It isn’t the life he once had_ , Myungsoo thinks, _but it isn’t a bad one_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry this chapter went this sad route, and I'm even posting this on Myungsoo's birthday but...at least Myungsoo's life has turned for the better, even if Sungyeol isn't there anymore. Let me know what you think of the ending :)
> 
> Also, there's still an epilogue but it's really a kind of a bonus of sorts, since this where the main thrust/arc of the fic ends. :| I have more thoughts on this story, especially after some insightful comments I got, but I'll save it for the a/n in the next chapter where it'll make more sense. Thank you for reading so far~


	8. Epilogue

“Myungsoo, someone’s looking for you!”

Myungsoo looks in the direction of the door, where Dongwoo’s voice is coming from. His boss is balancing a bunch of filters, muscular arms showing in a sleeveless shirt, as he stacks the irregular shaped objects so he can carrying them to the back of the store in one go. Myungsoo doesn’t see anyone standing near the entrance, but his vision is also mostly blocked by the many rows of fish tanks and colourful fish, so he just yells a “Coming!” and walks towards the door.

Avoiding knocking Dongwoo’s full arms as he slides pass the man between the fish tanks, Myungsoo reaches the counter facing the door, but he still doesn’t see anyone. He turns around, checking the aisles near the entrance, and finally spots a tall figure in a black hoodie in the last aisle. Myungsoo squints, because the height seems strangely familiar, but the silhouette does not, and he approaches the person with quick steps, hand rising to tap the guy’s shoulder.

Before his hand makes contact, the guy turns, and it is the last person Myungsoo expects to see.

_Sunggyu._

Myungsoo inhales sharply as he takes in Kim Sunggyu in front of him, the hood of his oversized hoodie covering a baseball cap underneath, in simple plain jeans and scruffy sneakers, standing between rows of guppies and corydoras.  _He looks so different from when he wore a suit_ , is what Myungsoo’s brain adds _._

Sunggyu just looks at him, expression unreadable, and Myungsoo blinks a few times before he finds the words to ask, “What are you doing here?”

The sight of hands sliding into pockets as Sunggyu considers Myungsoo’s question is an unfamiliar one, a gesture of hesitation that Sunggyuo hadn’t seen in the confident man before. He waits patiently for Sunggyu to answer, and eventually Sunggyu says, “I… wanted to see you.”

Myungsoo doesn’t know what to reply, but maybe Sunggyu hadn’t expected him to, because he continues, “I’m truly sorry for all the things I’ve done that has caused you pain, and I know an apology isn’t enough, but I thought I should still tell you that I’m sorry in person.”

Myungsoo wipes his palms on his jeans, because they’re suddenly clammy, but he’s surprised to find that he doesn’t hate the man anymore. Looking at the slightly hunched figure in front of him, Myungsoo can’t find it in himself to hate the man who had caused him so much grief only a year ago, and he wonders if he’d become a bigger person in the duration he hadn’t seen Sunggyu.

“It’s alright. I’ve already forgiven you.”

The jerk of Sunggyu’s head as he looks up cautiously to see whether Myungsoo meant what he had said makes Myungsoo smile a bit, and Myungsoo decides to offer the man a bone, “Don’t be so surprised. I’ve learnt to grow up and move on, and you should too.”

When Sunggyu stays silent, Myungsoo decides to elaborate, “After you told the truth and resigned, I had been relieved, but I wasn’t happy. You had hit rock bottom, but that wasn’t what I wanted, not really. Eventually I decided that I should stop holding a grudge against you, and only then was I finally able to move on with my life.”

Sunggyu just stares at him, unblinking, before he lets out a breath and mumbles, “Oh.”

Myungsoo waits a few moments, but Sunggyu doesn’t move, so he says, “If you’re not saying anything else, I’m going to go back to my work.” When he doesn’t get a reply, Myungsoo nods slightly, before returning to where he had been feeding the fish in the back.

 

 

A few days pass, Myungsoo going through the routine of tending to the fish and helping Dongwoo decide which new species to buy, but one afternoon when Myungsoo’s at the store alone, Sunggyu comes in. Not expecting to see Sunggyu again, let alone so soon, Myungsoo just continues checking the accounts, until Sunggyu walks up to the counter, and leans forward.

“Is there anything I can help you with?” Myungsoo asks, his breathing a bit faster than he’ll like from how close Sunggyu is, but managing to sound like what he normally would to a customer.

“Yeah,” Sunggyu says, but doesn’t elaborate.

“What can I help you with?” Myungsoo rephrases, when he can’t stand the silence during which Sunggyu puts his elbows on the counter to rest his head on as he looks at Myungsoo.

“You said I should grow up and move on, and I thought about it. I realize I can’t move on because I can’t stop thinking about the one person I actually really love in my life, but had stupidly hurt in a series of bad, selfish decisions. I’ll like to make it up to that person, but I don’t know how,” Sunggyu says, voice slightly trembling and sincere while he glances away, avoiding Myungsoo’s eyes.

 _What do you mean?_  Myungsoo thinks, but maybe he said it out loud, because Sunggyu says, “It’s you.”

This time, Myungsoo’s the one who mutters an “Oh.”

Sunggyu however, doesn’t turn to walk away like Myungsoo had the other day. Instead he says, “I don’t know if you’ll even want to, but I’m going to regret it if I don’t at least ask. Myungsoo, you said you’ve forgiven me, so I won’t apologize again, even though I don’t think even a thousand apologizes will make it up to you. I’m just going to go straight to the point. I still really like you, would you like to start over?”

The implications of Sunggyu’s words sink into Myungsoo. There’s a small tug in his chest when Myungsoo hears the words “start over”, and he can’t help but wonder if there’s still a small part in his heart that feels something for the man in front of him.

He takes in Sunggyu, someone he thought he had known, but now strangely unfamiliar in his casual wear, slack posture, with dark smudges under his eyes and a face drawn with uncertainty as he waits for Myungsoo’s reply. Myungsoo takes it all in, and considers. This was what he had wanted before, wasn’t it? Meeting Sunggyu in a place where they weren’t Chairman and secretary. Myungsoo doesn’t know if he’s ready for what Sunggyu is suggesting, but he realizes that at least, he wants to get to know the changed Sunggyu standing in front of him.

So he tells Sunggyu that.

Sunggyu listens, and when Myungsoo finishes, he steps back from the counter he was leaning on to give a polite 90 degree bow.

“Hi, my name is Kim Sunggyu, and I work in my friends’ office nearby. I am also a recently divorced man who’s starting afresh. It’s nice to meet you. May I know what’s your name?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is really the end, I hope you've enjoyed reading. :)
> 
> As a sort of bonus for making the last chapter so sad, I thought I'll add some details of the story that I've thought of, but didn't include in the story itself because it didn't fit in the text/it wasn't necessary for the progress of the story:  
> * The office that Howon runs with his friend? That friend is Woohyun. Lol.  
> * The friends' office that Sunggyu works at? Yes, that's Howon and Woohyun's office.  
> * So you can figure out why Hown offered Myungsoo a job in the previous chapter...  
> * (Yes, it's Sunggyu's doing)  
> * Who was the first customer who recognized Myungsoo in the convenience store? It's actually Woohyun, haha. But it could also be Howon, and I don't think that's a bad answer either. So it's up to you to decide. (Howon and Woohyun are close in this story anyway...)  
> * When Myungsoo made Woohyun delete that photo he secretly took in the convenience store, Woohyun actually has more which Myungsoo didn't know about.  
> * So yes, he actually sent Sunggyu photo updates on Myungsoo...
> 
> Let me know what you think of the story!
> 
> **
> 
> And from here on it'll be a longer a/n with some revised thoughts about how I've written the story, considering that this was originally a Block B fic and I've also since gotten some comments on this Infinite one that made me rethink this story. I'tll be long. You don't have to read the whole thing if you don't want to :)
> 
> So, this is actually the first chaptered story I ever finished, so it's always a little special in that way, I suppose. But honestly I didn't really know what I was doing when I started writing so there's inadequacies in the story. I have gotten feedback that the MyungYeol arc of the story seems to end rather abruptly, and that the MyungGyu relationship is kind of sudden/inappropriate - both of which are valid takes on this story, definitely. I think ultimately it depends on what you see this story as, for me it was always about Myungsoo - how he gets over the "down" period in his life and how it ends with him learning to move on and forgive - and to forgive because he wants to, not because he has to. Putting that burden down is an important part of his character growth I think. The MyungGyu arc is one I'm still a little effy about, if also because I don't think I really agree with the cheating regardless of whether they love each other. Sunggyu seems like a shitty asshole, and maybe he is, and maybe the epilogue romanticises things a little in that way even if it's left mostly open, but at least while writing, I imagined Sunggyu's character to be based off the [rap lyrics](http://bontheblock.tumblr.com/post/134696234844/lyrics-zico-pride-and-prejudice-feat-suran) of Zico's [Pride and Prejudice](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wERNFN0r-c0), where he does love Myungsoo but he lets his pride and other social factors get in the way and ends up hurting everyone. Well, anyway, I suppose it's up to interpretation and I don't particularly imagine Myungsoo and Sunggyu getting back together or just remaining as friends - it could really go either way, or who knows, they may never really become friends again and that's ok. What matters to me is that Myungsoo has matured enough to not hate Sunggyu despite all the shit he's been through because of him.
> 
> Sorry that was long and more information than you probably need to know, but I really enjoyed the relooking at this story with the different perspectives of my readers, and if you have any thoughts about the story, feel free to share, I'm always curious to hear what people think, even if - no, *especially* if - it's different from mine. ^^


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